Microsoft Word

Word was the first popular word processor for the IBM PC that used a graphic display mode to show typeface markups such as bold and italics directly on the screen while editing (WYSIWYG). Previous word processors, such as WordStar and WordPerfect, used simple text-only display with markup codes on the screen or sometimes, at the most, alternate colors.

Like other Microsoft Office applications, it can be highly customised using a built-in macro language (originally WordBasic, but changed to Visual Basic for Applications as of Word 97). However, this capability can also be used to embed viruses in documents, as was demonstrated by the Melissa worm. Because of this, users having Microsoft Word installed should refrain from having it configured to open Microsoft Word documents received -- by email or otherwise -- from untrusted sources. In this case also, a minimum precaution is to have anti-virus software installed in order to avoid being infected by such a virus or acting as a source of infection. The first virus known to affect Microsoft Word documents was called the Concept virus, and it first appeared on a CD that was published by Microsoft.

Microsoft Word is the dominant word processor in current use, making Word's proprietary file format the de facto standard which competing products must support to interoperate in an office environment. See the article word processor for a list of other word processors.

Later versions of Word have more capabilities than just word processing. The Drawing tool allows simple desktop publishing operations such as adding graphics to documents although Microsoft Publisher is obviously better at these tasks. Word also comes with rudimentary drawing tools which allow the drawing of simple diagrams or business graphics. See How to draw a diagram with Microsoft Word for a step-by-step tutorial on how to use the drawing tools to produce simple diagrams.

The document file format of Word has become a widely used de facto-standard, and interoperability though file import and export exist for many word processors such as AbiWord or OpenOffice.org. However, most interoperability is achieved through reverse-engineering since documentation of the file format from Microsoft is sporadic and incomplete. Lately Micorosoft has stated that they will move towards an XML-based file format for their office applications, which is hithereto only available in "professional" editions of the software.

Versions

Versions for Microsoft Windows include:

• Word for Windows
• Word 2 for Windows
• Word 6 for Windows (renumbered "6" to bring Windows version numbering in line with that of DOS & Macintosh versions)
• Word 95, also known as Word 7
• Word 97, also known as Word 8
• Word 2000, also known as Word 9
• Word 2002, also known as Word 10 but often referred to as Word XP
• Word 2003, also known as Word 11 and officially titled Microsoft Office Word 2003

Versions for Apple Macintosh include:

• Word 5
• Word 6
• Word 98
• Word 2001, the last version compatible with Mac OS 9
• Word v.X, the first version for Mac OS X
• Word 2004

External link

• Microsoft's Word site

Referenced By